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3 Ways to Beat a Fitness Plateau

Is your January buzz still strong? Or are you asking yourself..

  • Why in the world have I not budged in the last 2 weeks?
  • I lost 15 lbs. at first and am following the program and not seeing anymore progress..what gives?

Let’s go over 3 Ways to Beat a Fitness Plateau so that you can get over that hump and keep seeing progress!

I love the feeling of entering February with a bit more insight as to exactly what I want to do to achieve my BIG goal for the year. Luckily, last year I was able to check off my major goal in the first month but this year is a bit different as we are moving to Las Vegas. I am excited, nervous and ready to move! Do any of you live out that way? Comment below, I would love to meet you!

After a very strict training regime last year I started to hit a Plateau with my goals. Come to find out after recording and assessing, I was not eating enough carbohydrates. I am FINALLY seeing progress again but it was only after going through my checklist. If a Program is working for you, keep with it, don’t try and fix what isn’t broken! A well rounded program dedicated to your goals changes every 6-12 weeks depending on if results are occurring or not.

3 Ways to Beat a Fitness Plateau:

A “plateau” is when the Body gets used to doing the same routine of working out, sleeping and eating well over and over again and you either stop losing weight and/or stop gaining muscle. 

First before you go down the list, ask yourself, am I giving this program a chance and am I really not seeing results anymore? Changes take awhile to occur, everyone’s body is different and sometimes it takes a few weeks of adjustment for your body to warm up to the program and make changes.

  • A Food Consumption Record
    • Record your meals for 3 to 5 days and write down timing, item, size, and mood. You may discover a pattern and see a few more cookies sneaking in and surprise yourself. You might also see that your breakfast isn’t big enough or maybe you aren’t fueling properly post workout so you end up starving later on. Writing things down truthfully opens up a new world and can show you a lot about your nutritional habits.
  • Set a Personal Record Every Day
    • Whether it be adding 5 more pounds to your squat, pushing for one more pull up or adding an extra sprint to your run these small add ons will push you to the next level. Make sure to record your progress and your goal, you may surprise yourself with your strength and progressions! Pushing the same weight week after week is great, but once you can bust out 20 reps without a thought you need to move on up! You have to push the extra mile in order to continue to see results.
    • You can also make habit goals like:
      • Add 1 more serving of vegetables
      • Drink 1 more bottle of water
      • Pack a well rounded lunch and snacks to bring to work

  • Increase or Decrease Your Diet
    • It may SHOCK you but occasionally you need more calories, more carbs and more fats in order to see results. As we workout and move often our metabolisms start to speed up and to keep up and not store we need more food. Our bodies need adequate amounts of macronutrients (carbs, fats and proteins) to synthesize muscle growth, have more energy in the gym and function healthily. A lower calorie diet may have given you the results you wanted at first, but now that you are exercising regularly you may need to increase your intake a bit. I recently had to increase my carbohydrates as I was feeling drained in the gym, my body is stronger then ever before because I have the energy to push harder in the gym. My weight started to drop a bit as well as I believe that my body was holding onto some extra fat to prepare itself for the next workout. Don’t be afraid to add an extra 100-250 calories or so a week and increase your carbs and fats a bit.

I also recommend switching up your program every 6-12 weeks for several reasons:

  • It creates excitement to your workouts again and you will not burn out doing the same motions over and over again.
  • You will try new movement patterns and sequences which will keep your mind and body sharp.
  • You will most likely beat any type of plateau that you might have faced if you stuck to a program past the 12 weeks
  • It forces you to create new goals for yourself

If all of this sounds overwhelming, I created a FREE Goal Planning Worksheet that you can download RIGHT NOW to help organize your plan to BEAT your fitness plateau, just click the button to gain instant access:

I would LOVE to hear from you, comment below and let me know if you ever hit a plateau with your Fitness program and what you did about it.

P.S: If you are looking for a support system and a cheerleader I have a 4 Online Coaching Spots Available! Online Coaching is great for someone looking to have a custom workout and nutrition plan to follow, be held accountable to sticking to it daily and be coached through it without the cost or paying someone to count reps for you!  I have three programs one being a jumpstart program great for someone needing to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle, a basic 30 day plan and a customized program all available just check out my coaching page for more details!

The post 3 Ways to Beat a Fitness Plateau appeared first on Courtney Bentley Fitness.



This post first appeared on Star Systemz Women's Fitness And Health, please read the originial post: here

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3 Ways to Beat a Fitness Plateau

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